Breathe You In
by MzFreak
Summary: This time... she's chasing after him.
1. Chapter 1

**_Breathe You In– Chapter One_**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**-- **

"You're here."

She turned swiftly at the sound of his voice, "I'm here," her voice stammered slightly.

"Thanks for coming."

"It was my pleasure – no actually, scratch that. You forced me to come to this little event – now can you tell me why you wanted me to come to this little shindig so badly?"

He looked around, her question ringing in his ears. "Where's Huntzberger?"

"He's… he couldn't come," she replied quickly, "Now will you stop avoiding my question."

He set his drink down onto the table and looked her dead in the eye. Tonight, her blue eyes were fierce and icy.

"Honestly, it's just a small gathering of friends Rory – and I consider you as one of my friends, if not my closest friend. You would be even angrier with me if I _didn't _invite you."

"No, I would have been grateful… utterly grateful for that," she replied smoothly, catching sight of the ridiculously tall and beautiful brunette a mere five feet from where they stood.

"Okay, let's sit and I'll tell you," he reasoned with her.

"Alright," she cast him an unnerving glance before following him to a nearby-unoccupied table.

She sat with her back straight, somehow knowing the seriousness of the pending conversation. Butterflies unwillingly fluttered in her stomach and she fought to keep her leftover pizza down. The fact was that… she had something to tell him also.

"You're scaring me Dugrey," she joked, taking a seat opposite him.

"You have no reason to be scared, it's me who should be scared shitless."

"Why?"

"Because of what I'm about to say – and do," Tristan laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck subconsciously.

Rory smiled inwardly, he was rubbing the back of his neck… that meant he was nervous. The question was, about what?

"You're nervous."

Tristan smirked, his unusually calm face sweaty. "I am."

She set her purse down in front of her and paused to collect her thoughts, "You're freaking me out a little here Dugrey."

"I'm freaking myself out a little Gilmore."

"Okay, just spit it out because I have something to tell you too."

"No, I think that you should go first."

Rory's eyes widened and her knees buckled nervously. She couldn't possibly go first… her revelation was too big to go first… too shocking. His news could not possibly be as large as hers.

"No… you're going first."

"For heaven's sake Rory, we're twenty four year olds – not six. I'll tell you part of my news first and you'll go next… we'll take turns."

"Alright, and after you buy me an apple martini."

"Only if you'll buy me a gin and tonic," he smiled.

Rory smiled back, she couldn't really control herself. His smile was contagious… especially the smile that he seemed to save just for her.

"You've got yourself a deal, buster."

Tristan nodded before licking his dry lips, he fought to find the right words. "I think that… I mean I _know _what I finally want in my life."

"You do?" she uttered the two words, her voice sounding different to her ears.

"Yeah," he grinned, "I want a family Rory… I want the big house, the white picket fence and all that clichéd crap. I want it all."

"Tristan, I know you want all that… what I don't understand is why you felt it necessary to repeat them to me once again."

"As I recall, I told you I wanted those things but knew that those things were far from reach. Now… not so much."

Rory swallowed the big ball lodged in her throat and fought to remain calm. Could he… did he?

"What I'm trying to say is that I've finally found the right girl for me… she's been right under my nose all along… I've taken her for granted," his voice shook with every word.

"Oh?" she bit the flesh in her cheek to keep from smiling.

"Yes _'oh.'_ Now it's your turn… tell me your news and after I'll finish off mines."

"We're actually on the same boat Dugrey… I now know what I want also," she cracked a smile.

"You do?" he smirked, leaning back against the wooden chair.

Rory nodded, "I do."

"Does what you want happen to have a healthy head of blonde hair?" he winked suggestively.

"What are you? Some kind of psychic?" Rory laughed at her question, feeling at ease because it seemed as if… they both wanted the same things… that she could finally tell him how she felt.

--

"_Hey," he whispered softly._

_The brunette beauty turned around and smiled wearily. She allowed him to kiss her quickly before turning away before the kiss deepened into something more._

"_What's wrong Ace?" Logan inquired curiously, noticing his girlfriend's unusual behavior._

"_Nothing's wrong Logan," she replied, digging through the stack of paperwork before her._

"_You're acting rather unusual, tell me what's up," he urged, his arms wrapped around her petite waist from behind._

"_I'm just stressed – my deadline for this food poisoning story is almost here and I still haven't interviewed the chief executive of Highland Poultry to get his statement, plus I still have to call Emily Peters, mother of Molly Peters who was the very first person to get food poisoning after eating Highland Poultry chicken and –"_

"_You need to relax," he murmured, his lips nearing the nape of her soft neck, "Let's go out… have some lunch… then maybe back to my place. What do you say?"_

_Rory closed her eyes, relishing the warmth coming from his body. She nodded slowly, putting off what she _really _had to go until later. _

"_Sounds great."_

_-_

"_Lunch was absolutely wonderful, thank you," Rory set her coat down onto his large bed and slowly made her way to his bedroom windows. _

_Silently, she looked out of the window overlooking the beautiful Huntzberger garden._

"_Something's wrong with you."_

_Rory turned around quickly, finding Logan a few feet away from her._

"_And I think I know exactly what it is."_

"_What? What are you talking about Logan?"_

"_It's because Melissa was at the same restaurant."_

_Rory shot him a puzzled look, "Melissa? As in your ex-girlfriend Melissa? She was there?"_

"_You didn't notice?"_

"_No," she told him truthfully._

"_You don't have to lie Ace, that's why you've been quiet all day. I thought you forgave me for _that_."_

"_I did! And Melissa is not the reason I'm acting the way I am. I've just had a lot on my mind."_

"_Like what? Tell me Ace. If this relationship thing is to work then you have to tell me so that we can work it out together!"_

_Tears clouded her vision as soon as the word 'relationship' was uttered from his lips. _

"_You really want to know what's going on with me?" she whispered threateningly._

"_Yes I do," Logan whispered back, only difference was that, he was confident with his answer._

"_Alright…" she paused, "I think that we should – take a break."_

"_Take a break?"_

"_Yes… from this relationship. I think we should –"_

"_You're breaking up with me?" Logan spat out, not quite believing the unfortunate twist of events._

_Rory fingered his satin drapes before opening her mouth to answer. Her insides were torn and tears threatened to spill from her damp eyes. It was harder then she had expected. _

"_Please understand Logan. I love you but-"_

"_But what? You don't break up with people you claim to love Rory! You don't really love me… this… this… this is about Dugrey isn't it?" he was now yelling._

_With every word, his voice raised a significant amount and it scared her. _

"_Don't bring Tristan into this." _

"_But I'm right, aren't I?" Logan whispered, his fists clenching._

"_About what?" Rory's voice competed with his. _

"_You have feelings for him."_

"_I don't-"_

"_Just tell me the truth. You could at least give me that," Logan interrupted, his eyes now cold and his face void of any unwanted emotions. _

_After much thought and deliberation, Rory shut her eyes tightly only to open them seconds later. "I do have feelings for Tristan… and I'm ending things because it's not fair to you."_

_Logan shut his eyes quickly at her revelation, somehow feeling defeated. "How long?"_

_Rory shrugged, tears now falling freely. "I don't know… when I saw him again at your birthday party after so many years, I thought he was still the same arrogant, selfish kid that he was in high school. And then we formed a friendship… and he's changed so much… and…" she was at a loss for words, Rory didn't really know how to describe it all. _

"_He's got someone, you know that?"_

"_Yes and that's my problem… not yours."_

"_I don't want you to get hurt," Logan reasoned, running his hand through his hair._

"_I won't."_

"_You sure?"_

"_I think so."_

--

"It just so happens Dugrey that," Rory smiled as the waitress handed Rory an apple martini, "I too know what I want… or should I say, who."

Tristan smirked, taking a sip of his own drink. "Tell me."

"Nope, it's your turn," Rory mimicked his smirk.

Tristan frowned at the cliffhanger and sighed, all of the nervousness he had once felt quickly coming back.

"Come on, don't chicken out on me now," Rory teased.

"I'm not… I'm just thinking about how good we have it now."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, we both know what we want and we're both going for it. I think that's fucking awesome," Tristan replied, grinning childishly.

Rory let out a soft laugh, "I guess it is, isn't it?"

"It is! You and Huntzberger and Alicia and I."

If Rory had been standing up, she would have found herself on the ground after the comment had slipped past his lips. Three words flashed in her mind: _What.The.Hell? _

"Pardon?"

"Rory… this is great, don't you think? You finally realizing that Logan is the one for you and me finally realizing that I want to spend the rest of my life with Alicia."

Rory turned her head, shocked and appalled. From the corner of her blue eyes she spotted Alicia Montgomery, the tall and beautiful brunette whom Rory absolutely despised because of one reason. And that reason was that she and Tristan were together. Now, the hate had reached a whole new level.

"The rest of your life? I'm not following you."

Tristan finished off his gin and tonic, "I want to ask Alicia to marry me and I need your help planning the perfect proposal."

--

Hello all… yes, this is another story but I haven't left my others out. New chapters are coming for both camping trip and the best of you. I say by the weekend probably.

So yeah, I've missed all of you very, very much. Last I updated, I was recovering from my little car accident scare but I'm all right now. Everything's been resolved so I'm happy about that! And plus, I just got a new job so I've been very busy saving up money for college next year.

Anyway, I'm not sure about this story. Whether it's going to be a trory I mean, I guess we'll just have to see right? Plus I was getting tired of writing stories where Tristan was doing the pursuing… in this story, Rory's going to be the one pursuing and Tristan's going to be the pursued.


	2. two

_**Breathe You In – Chapter Two**_

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. **

"Exactly how many cups of coffee have you consumed today?"

Rory turned to look at the young man, taking note of the look of amusement plastered on his face. "I lost count after six," she murmured.

"It's only ten in the morning. That's a little extreme… even for you."

"Yeah well – I'm depressed," the brunette sighed dramatically into her mug.

"Can a sexy Australian make you feel better?" he offered, his deep accent laced with mirth.

"No Finn," she sighed, "Not even a sexy Australian can fix this."

"I learned two things from that sentence," he started, taking away her now empty mug, "One; that you think I'm sexy. Finally, after how many years you finally admit it. And two; that whatever is making you depressed isserious because frankly love, I've never seen you like this."

Finn took in her disheveled appearance and he frowned. No longer was she the confident journalist that he had come to know and love. Before him now was a confused and miserable woman, her eyes giving away every emotion that she was feeling. He could see the sadness, the anxiety and the anger she was currently feeling.

"Is this about Logan?"

Rory let out a snort, "I wish."

"If it's not about my blonde haired best friend, then what or who _is_ the reason?" Finn questioned, tilting his head to meet her eyes.

"Tristan."

"DuGrey? Tristan DuGrey?"

Rory nodded.

"What did he do?"

"He's planning on proposing," she uttered out, struggling with the words.

"To long legs?"

"Long legs?"

"Alicia long legs Montgomery."

Rory rolled her eyes, "Real clever."

"Don't blame me, Colin came up with it. Rather boring and so typical and _so _like Colin but it stuck. Anyway, back to the subject. So Tristan's finally taking that final step huh?"

Rory shrugged, fetching herself another cup of coffee. "That's what it looks like. And he wants _me_ to help him."

Finn eyed her curiously, failing to see any problem. "So?"

"Never mind," she mumbled.

"I don't understand… why are you not happy?"

"I _am_ happy," she lied.

"Tristan's your best mate. If your best mate is happy, then wouldn't that automatically make _you _happy?"

"I guess…"

"Tristan is happy but you're not happy. Are you following me love?"

"Sort of."

"This leads to my next question… why the hell are you so damn miserable when you should be with Tristan celebrating and helping plan his perfect proposal?"

"Because I don't want to help him plan his stupid proposal," Rory replied, her words harsher then she intended.

"Why?" Finn was surprised by her revelation. It was so un-Rory like.

"Because I don't think she's the right person for him," she murmured into her fresh mug of coffee.

"I disagree."

"You do?"

He nodded, "They are perfect for each other. This is the happiest I've seen Tristan in a while."

"They've only been going out for six months! That's hardly enough time to decide to move in together let alone get _married_!"

Finn held his arms up high, surrendering to Rory's loud and booming voice. "Alright love, whatever you say."

Rory smiled for an instant before closing her eyes, her thoughts clouding with unwanted images that would have dampened her blue eyes if they were open.

"Does Tristan know that you think these things?" he inquired curiously, taking a bite of the waffle that had just popped out from the toaster.

"Yeah…" she trailed off, "Okay no but I can't just walk up to him and say 'hey Tristan, guess what… I hate your girlfriend and I think that you're going to make a big mistake by asking her to marry you.'"

Finn nodded, chewing thoughtfully. His hands grabbed hold of the jug of orange juice and without even reaching for a cup, opened the lid and drank a generous amount.

"Or how about going up to Tristan and saying 'hey Tristan, oldmate of mine. I have something to tell you… I secretly hate you're girlfriend. Do not and I mean _do not_ ask her to marry you… ask me instead because I've secretly loved you for months, maybe even years, who knows? She doesn't deserve you as much as I do.'"

Rory had been in mid sip just as Finn had completed his sentence. To say that it shocked her would have been a major understatement. The steaming hot coffee that had been inside her mouth had been splattered across the kitchen table and onto Finn's designer black tie.

"I can't believe you just said that!" she exclaimed, wiping her mouth.

The look of sheer horror was glued to the Australian's face as he looked down to examine his tie. "And I can't believe _you _just did _that_!"

"I'm sorry but you had no right to say what you just said."

"That was so disgusting Rory," Finn shook his head, mildly amused. "Do you know how much this damn tie cost me?"

"Probably as much as the outfit I'm wearing right now," Rory muttered.

"Damn right. And now it's ruined."

"So what do you want me to do? Buy you a new one? You can't even see the coffee stain… it's a black tie!"

"Nevertheless, I can smell the coffee," he shuddered.

"You lucky duckling," Rory teased before fetching herself a new cup of her drink.

"Anyway, back to the subject," Finn responded smugly, running his hand through his dark hair.

"What subject?"

"The DuGrey subject. I'm not blind love… I may be drunk as hell most of the time but I'm quite attentive."

"That you are. Remember last Saturday when a cute red head walked in the pub? You couldn't take your eyes off of her and you remembered her outfit to the tiniest detail. You still do in fact."

Finn grinned boyishly, "Tight black cardigan with a white tank underneath. She had on a short jean skirt matched with black stockings and cute beige boots. Also that cute scarf she had on."

"Straight from an American Eagle catalogue," Rory laughed, "I bet you don't remember what _I _was wearing that day."

"White turtleneck with those blue jeans that you love. Along with that, you had on your mother's Marc Jacob's belt and your pea coat in case it got too chilly. Your hair was down in light curls."

"Impressive," Rory eyes grew wide, "And slightly frightening."

Finn shrugged, "You also want to know what I noticed that night?"

"Go ahead. Amuse me."

"You were angry at Tristan for bringing Alicia… though you refused to show it, I noticed. And that's when I figured out your feelings for him."

Rory remained silent, her hands hugging her mug for extra warmth. She looked out of the window and sighed, watching the snowflakes cascading down onto the ground silently. Finn followed her eyes and he too watched the snowfall. Silence invaded the spacious kitchen, both adults having no words.

"Are you amused?" Finn smirked, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

She cleared her throat before muttering the following words, "What do you suggest I do about my uh… problem?"

The Australian's eyes were still focused on the snow outside… he was almost hypnotized. "Isn't it weird how something so beautiful be so evil at the same time?"

"What?"

"Snow love, snow," he grinned bashfully.

"How is snow evil?"

"It's so bloody cold."

"I love it all just the same," she replied, biting her lip.

"And to answer your previous question, you have to tell him about your feelings. You can't just stand back and watch him possibly make the biggest mistake of his life."

"But you said it was great news… that you've never seen him happier," she mildly argued.

"I said that it's the happiest I've seen him in a while, however, the happiest I've _ever_ seen Tristan is whenever I see him with you."

"Really?"

Finn nodded, swallowing the odd bitterness in the back of his mouth, "Really. So bring that snowflake down, princess," he winked before standing up.

"How do you suggest I do that?" Rory asked incredulously.

"You're smart, you'll figure something out."

Rory watched him exit her apartment with wide eyes, in all of her twenty-four years of existence; she had never been so confused.

--

Hello! Here is chapter two… I know it was kind of dull but greatly needed since Finn will be a recurring character in this story. Ah… my love for him will never die!

Thanks for the reviews, they make me happy and keep me writing.

**Happy Holidays to all of you guys! Gosh, I love the holidays! Hope you have a safe and good one:))**


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